(series review) [STREAMING] - Baby Reindeer

Where do I even start with this? What I will say first and foremost is that this show could trigger you, so this will be the first time I am issuing a TRIGGER WARNING for one of my reviews as it has subject matter that may upset you the reader or viewer. Although I will not go into any specifics about anything that happens in the show in detail due to spoilers, I would just want you to know that if you are indeed interested in watching this mini-series, please be aware, be cautious and seek the helplines below, should you need it.

There is a saying "Hurt people hurt people". If you do not understand what the saying means, in short, people who have been hurt by somebody, that person has also been hurt by somebody. To put that into relationship terms, you could be in a relationship with someone and someone in that relationship cheats on the other with someone else. The cheating comes to light, they break up, the person who was cheated on gets into another relationship and if they do not cheat themselves, maybe they behave in a way that hurts their new partner. It is not always the case but there are loads of other examples of this and for the most part, a lot has to do with the vicious cycle of abuse. Now the aim is not to give away the story here, but to give context to the behaviours of people in life, fictional or otherwise.

Donnie Dunn is a struggling comedian who works in a Pub in the hope of landing himself a huge gig. One day on his shift, a lady named Martha comes in and orders a drink. After a little chat and banter, Martha returns to the Pub daily in the hope of speaking with Donnie, but eventually and slowly, this turns into harassment until things turn dark and Donnie has to take matters into his own hands. 

Seven episodes of British dark comedy which is also a drama-thriller that I could not seem to stop watching. You sit and watch the first few episodes intrigued and curious as to what is going to happen next. You find yourself shouting at the TV perplexed that these things are happening and why they are happening, but this slow burn starts to sink deeper into chilling and disturbing imagery. It all seems a bit bizarre and weird, having you ask yourself "Why would you let that happen? Why would you continue to go back? Why don't you make a police report?" You ask a lot of questions, but at the end of the show, your questions get answered, but not before the "mid-episode" dark turn the show takes. When I say dark, when you watch the episode, you will know what I mean because you will know it when you see it.

The acting in this show is stellar. For a show I did not know what to expect, you are led by the actors and their performances and although this is a dramatisation of real-life events, the acting made everything real. It felt real. From the comedy to the very dark moments, this show does not hold anything back and as gritty as it got, the humour was also there because, at times, life does bring its own levity at times. I would definitely recommend this show even though it is a little bit of a mind-job throughout, but your questions are answered near the end and be careful, you may even cry.

Recognise Abuse HERE
Abuse Hotline 1
Abuse Hotline 2

(trailer review) - Riders of Justice

There are not many people who enjoy or watch foreign or subtitle films.  I'm not claiming to be one of them but I'm not put-off by them at all, but in truth, I would prefer a non-subtitled movie as I'm a slow reader...lol.  With that said, the more you watch subtitled movies, sometimes you can get the gist and the story just by the body language and the performances without having to know each word said and it can be somewhat refreshing an experience.

This trailer for example, from the visuals alone, you can tell this man is looking for something/someone, possibly out for revenge and it is due to an incident on a train involving his family.  This trailer looks good as well as having some great comedic moments and Mads is a great actor.  I've never really known him from anything really, other than Doctor Strange and Star Wars: Rogue One, but a lot of people know who he is.  It is also nice to see an English speaking actor doing other work in a different language, Danish.  I'd like to see another trailer for this but it does seem like it has everything I'd want from it so far.

Directed by Anders Thomas Jensen and starring Mads Mikkelsen, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Andrea Heick Gadeberg, Lars Brygmann and Nicolas Bro.

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(trailer review) - Umbrella Academy: Season 2

When I watched the first season of Umbrella Academy, I was blown away.  If you are into Superhero shows, movies and that genre altogether, then you will understand what this show is about and what it is similar to.  X-Men, but not as PG as there is swearing involved and extreme violence.  As the Superhero genre has been booming in TV and film for over 18 years and since the 2000s, it was refreshing to watch this show of a dysfunctional superhero family in this over saturated industry and to be honest, this is not a bad thing at all.
I'm going to have to watch the first season again before this season starts as I cannot remember everything that happened, but it's going to be a delight as the acting is superb and seeing them all again is great.

This trailer is great and while I was waiting for this trailer since forever, I'm definitely loving the crews dynamic and how it seems they have now gelled well as a family and are actually bonding more with their natural squabbles here and there.  I'm loving the fact Five is still the bearer of knowledge and telling people what is happening since he is the time traveller and it is interesting and very cool to see Ben more throughout this trailer and i'm assuming throughout the second season.

Unless I'm mistaken, it is out later this month and due to the success of the first season, providing they keeping the same energy as the first season, this will be another successful season.  It was just upsetting that I had not seen Mary J. Blige as she was soo good in the first one.

Directed by Steve Blackman and starring Aidan Gallagher, Cameron Britton, David Castañeda, Ellen Page, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Justin H. Min, Robert Sheehan & Tom Hopper.

(series review) [STREAMING] - Better Call Saul: Season 5

Where the hell do I start?

First of all, I tried to start this show 4-5 years ago and I failed.  I tried again numerous times and kept failing.  Distractions. Falling asleep. Other shows. I need to get back to 'The Walking Dead' AND 'The Blacklist' but because I keep hearing of Better Call Saul and how good it is getting AND the fact that Breaking Bad had me clapping at the end in it's final season finale, I've forced myself to watch all 5 seasons of Better Call Saul.  It meant that a lot of the time I rewatched episodes due to falling asleep and losing my position in the narrative, but I've got to say, Better Call Saul is such an experience, you have to push yourself through it to understand how great it is.

You see, with Breaking Bad, you are given a school teacher who is getting basic pay, but isn't enough to support his wife and family.  He gets into making drugs to turn a profit and then becomes a Drug Kingpin over time.  James McGill aka Slipping Jimmy (Bob Odenkirk) is the younger brother or Charles McGill (Michael McKean), a successful lawyer for a big law firm.  James is a con man turned Lawyer in order to clean his life up and do whatecer it takes for his clients.  James idolises his brother Chuck and inspires to be like him, but James aka Jimmy struggles with a lot of things in life due to the choices he makes.

Over the course of the series though, through season 1 to 5, we start to see the formation and change in James McGill to becoming the character he is in Breaking Bad as well as the characters around him and in his world, such as Mike, Hector and Gus (also characters in Breaking Bad).  As this is a prequel, you begin to bridge the dots in Breaking Bad from this show (of you have already watched Breaking Bad), however this show stands on its own two feet than relying on the predecessor.

We get a more in-depth look at Jimmy's personal life and his relationship with his older brother who has a condition leaving Jimmy to look after him and care over him.  What's funny though, I believe it was THIS relationship and the things which were said by Jimmy's friend, Kim (in which I'll get onto next) regarding his relationship with his brother is what caught me offguard and had me fully invested at this point.

Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn) was a strange one for me.  She is Jimmy's friend and they really get on.  It's like an on-again off-again situationship where her character eventually grew on me, especially after what she had said in relation to Chuck and Jimmy's relationship.  It was at that point, I saw her differently because she saw Jimmy differently and that really mattered to me.  I didn't like how she would sometimes treat Jimmy, when he would have given her the world, but at the same time, Jimmy's influence is what makes Kim ultimately the tragedy of this story.

The earlier seasons focus more or Jimmy, Mike, Chuck and Kim but as their stories expand, the more the world opens up and more characters get introduced as well as story points, ie Gus Fring, a drug lord from Breaking Bad and his beef with the people he is in business with, the Salamancas or at least, their rivalry.

Needless to say, Better Call Saul is about the characters and the writers do an absolute amazing job in giving every single character some depth with scenes these actors can chew on.  Bob is amazing and I loved his voice acting work in The Incredibles 2, but where he takes his character and what he does with him are excellent.  Imagine I disliked Kim near the start, but she grew on me and Rhea does a real good job especially when she has those moments to shine.  I didn't really care for the relationship between Jimmy and Chuck, but then I started to dislike Chuck and felt sorry for Jimmy.  I mean, two brothers who are brothers but don't really see eye-to-eye, but one would do anything to help the other whilst the other just wouldn't.

Everything about this show is great and at times, moved me emotionally.  The way they build these storylines and the tension is nothing short of great.  If you have seen Breaking Bad, you'd be familiar with the odd usage of camera angles and extreme close-ups of ants on an ice-cream cone or a bird's eye view shot with a character doing multiples things in different locations within the scene over time, but it all adds to what Better Call Saul is.  The flashbacks and Flash Forwards can be confusing at times, but with the different levels these guys are playing on in telling us James' story, you will get there in the end and you will appreciate how they get you locked in.

Try not to compare or think too deeply about Breaking Bad though, as this show is just a prequel to it, but stands on its own two, neatly.  I believe what Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould do more than anything, is make you sympathise with specific characters and if anything, I could really relate to Jimmy.  Sometimes, things can be all messed up and nothing works, but you still put on that brave face and face the world.

When it's all said and done, I'd like to see the future of this character, if there is one, because the black and white Cinnabon moments must be after Breaking Bad and if you have seen that, you know what happens to Jimmy.

Get to watching.

(film review) [STREAMING] - 6 Underground

I have a love/hate relationship with Director Michael Bay.  I mean he is the man behind the original Bad Boys movie, Pain & Gain and a very small handful of great movies and a handful of very successful movies that print money that has no real story or plot, but helps catapult Michael to a position where he can make films like this.

To be fair, this is not a TERRIBLE movie, per say, because of actors like Ryan Reynolds, Ben Hardy and Corey Hawkins who hold the film up with decent dialogue on a substandard script and plot.  So for the most part, from what you get in the poster is exactly what you get in the movie, but if you were hoping for something very entertaining, funny, with a good storyline, heart and thought provoking, well...2 out of 5 is only 40% which is, not even passable, but then, you came to the wrong place.  Let me explain.

One (Ryan Reynolds) is a millionaire tech guy who has made millions from his work, but is now declared dead and now operates as a ghost.  A Ghost is someone who can operate anywhere at any time throughout the world to carry out vigilante operations no other teams can.  One is the leader of his team effectively called number one and he has 5 other people who are also known as numbers.  However, when his latest assignment involves the taking down of a dictator, the mission turns out to be more problematic than first thought.

The storyline is waste, if I'm honest.  You just don't care for it. There is no tension.  Just a hollow as hell movie.  However, the action, nothing but action on top of action on top of action and for the most part and that was the only thing I was interested in as it was violent, a little graphic but with cheap gore, blood spilling everywhere and crazy deaths.  Some of the dialogue was great with possibly loads of improvisation from Reynolds as he is definitely the stand out. His character reminded me of the character from The Hitman's Bodyguard and Blade Trinity.

The movie is loud.  The movie is high-octane action.  The movie is very stunning with amazing shots and beautiful locations with very stylised action and cinematography and wardrobe.  It was practically Transformers but with actual humans and no robots as the vibrant colours seemed too bright for modern day life.  Like "who wears that going out?", but the ever so flamboyant Michael and his nonsensical decisions and outlandish slow-motion shots and 360 pans, almost upskirt angled shots.  For the most part, some of these, maybe one or two could be nice, but when it is relentlessly throughout a movie and then to add the unnecessary explosions to it, it just becomes...waste, really.  Like what is the point.  The Fast and Furious Franchise does Michael Bay better than, Michael Bay.  But if this is your thing, go for it.

I wouldn't go cinema for this, I'm glad it's on Netflix.

(trailer review) - Knives Out

So, basically, it's a Guess Who? or Who Done It? Murder mystery movie where someone gets murdered and we are trying to figure out who did it! From the top of my head, I cannot think off the top of my head if I can remember the last murder mystery film I've watched...maybe The Grand Budapest Hotel, if that is one.  But the acting looks incredible and some of these actors look like they are having a blast.  It would be nice to see some of these actors who are known for iconic characters to actually see them as somebody else and not whom they have embodied for many years.

Plus I like Rian Johnson, he needs a win after Star Wars: The Last Jedi. I liked it but it was problematic.

Directed By Rian Johnson and starring Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, LaKeith Stanfield, Don Johnson, Jamie Lee Curtis and many more.

(film review) - Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri

Unless I'm attending a secret screening and on the off chance, I have not seen the movie trailer for the film I'm about to see, it is HIGHLY UNLIKELY for me to sit down in a cinema and watch a movie I have no clue about.  That being said, a friend of mine told me to watch the trailer as it is funny, but I only went to see this movie because it was something different from the superhero and sci-fi movies I usually review.  I mean, c'mon guys, I do watch other movies, heck, I watch a ton of movies and a lot of them have not been reviewed on here yet, but as it is 2018, I'm going to do my best.  And with THAT said, this movie; I thought was some small town story about some small town issues of family dramas and something that doesn't interest me a great deal.  And boy was I right and soo damn wrong at the same time.  I'll explain.

3 Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri is about a white woman who lives in a small town who has some outrageously terrifying, horrific and brutal actions taken out on her daughter in which leaves her daughter dead.  Mildred Hayes (Frances McDormand), having mourned for her child, puts up 3 controversial Billboards for the attention of William Willoughby (Woody Harrelson), the towns revered Chief of Police which leaves the town divided.   Not only has nothing been done to capture the culprit, half the town side with Mildred whilst the other half are against her and her methods.  When mother's boy Officer Dixon (Sam Rockwell) with a penchant for violence gets involved, things only get from bad to worse for Mildred while she does everything she can to get justice for her daughter.

I honestly thought this film was brilliant.  I was pleasantly surprised.  Very dark humour, in a crime film written and directed by Martin McDonagh which not only pulls on your heart strings but also makes you laugh out loud if you are not already crying.  I almost cried a few times because I kept thinking and putting myself in Mildred's situation.  The acting in this is great, Frances is excellent, Woody is excellent and Sam is also excellent.  I mean the acting is great all around and the dialogue is more than witty, not to mention very tongue in cheek, but the movie comes together very well.  Was shocked when it ended, but wasn't surprised.

A great film I would recommend to anyone who likes crime films and/or comedy.  I think the best way to think of this might be to think of 7 Psychopaths, same director.